It is common practice in farming to collect animal manure in confinement locations for subsequent use as fertilizer. In fact, several prior art systems are known for transferring manure from an animal confinement location to a manure storage location for interim storage of the manure prior to its use as fertilizer. Examples of such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,311, 4,439,115 and 5,330,332 to Nesseth et al. Regardless of the storage location, however, the manure must, at some point, be somehow transferred from the storage location to a manure distribution mechanism such as a manure spreading vehicle.
Manure collection vehicles are also known and exist in many forms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,745 to Vinyard discloses an automated apparatus for cooperative arrangement with a tractor or similar vehicle for collecting loose manure from the surface of an animal confinement area such as a feedlot. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,439 to Hansson discloses an auger-type manure collection apparatus carried by a vehicle which is rotatable outwardly from the vehicle to collect loose manure from accessible areas beneath animal confinement cages. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,046 to Ruyle discloses an auger-type apparatus for cooperative arrangement with a vacuum wagon. When the auger apparatus is operatively inserted into the manure pit, the combined mechanical auger action and vacuum action supplied by the vacuum wagon transfers manure from the pit to the wagon.
Although the Ruyle apparatus, as well as other known apparata operably associated with a vacuum/suction-type vehicle, are effective in transferring manure from a manure confinement location to a vacuum vehicle, apparata of this type have several disadvantages associated therewith.
First, such apparata are laborious to operate. Either the vacuum vehicle operator is required to constantly enter and exit the vehicle to connect and disconnect the apparatus from the vehicle, or an additional laborer is required to provide this function. In either case, operation of such an apparatus is labor intensive.
Second, most prior art apparata are messy to operate as the apparatus is constantly connected and disconnected to the vacuum vehicle. Excess manure in the vacuum line usually ends up spilling on the transfer site and/or on the operator if great care is not taken to evacuate the vacuum line prior to the connect/disconnect procedure.
What is therefore needed is an apparatus to more efficiently and effectively transfer manure from a manure storage location to a vacuum vehicle. Ideally, such an apparatus should be semi-automated so that the vacuum vehicle operator may engage the apparatus from the cab area of the vehicle. Further, the apparatus should be self-evacuating to thereby avoid spillage at the transfer site. Finally, such an apparatus would be applicable, or easily modified, to a variety of liquified matter transfer arrangements.